Track-clearing equipment.



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TRACK CLEARiNG E'QUKPMENT.

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W. E. WOODHUSE & W. H. WINTERROWD.

TRACK CLEARING EQUIPMENT. A PPucATlqN man MAH. 1918.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

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WILLIAM E. WOODI-IOUSE AND WILLIAM I-I. WNTERROWD, 0F MONTREAL, QUEBEC,

TRACK-CLEARING EQUIPMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, Y1918.

Application mea May 7, 191s. serial No. 233,151.

To all whom t may concern .f

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. Woon- Housn and WILLIAM H. WINTERRowD,' both of the city of Montreal, Province of Quebec, Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Track- Clearing Equipment; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear; and exact description thereof.

Heretofore the removal of hard substances such as ice and sand from railway road-beds has been accomplished with pick and shovel. This method is not only a very slow one but labor conditions have rendered it very costly. The purpose of the present-,invention is to overcome these difliculties by providing rolling stock which will automatically scrape the entire surface road-bed as it travels along the same.

More specifically stated the invention may be said to consist of a truck having a plurality of cutting devices mounted upon its forward end and arranged in an angular line extending from side to side of the road-bed. For full comprehension, however of our invention, reference must be had to the accompanying drawings in which similar reference characters indicate the same parts, and wherein l Figure 1 is'k a side elevation of a i'iat car equipped with our improved track clearing means;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof partly in section; o t

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view thereof; Fig. 4 is a detail view of one of the cuttersvFig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5`5 Fig. 3; i

Fig. 6 isr a sectional view taken on lin` 6-6 Fig. 3; t

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7-7 Fig. 3; and p Fig. 8 is a sectional view ktakenfon line 8-8 Fig. 2. f

In the accompanying drawings the invention is shown applied to a liat car thefloor of which is indicated at 2, one of the trucks at 3, the usual arch-bars at 4 and the pedestals at 5. l

Our invention consists of a. track clearing device proper and power-operated means for raising and lowering the device relatively to the road-bed.

The cutting or scraping device proper consists of a` frame 6 of wedge form which is composed of a center bracket 7 and two side brackets 8 and-9. Each of these brackets has a vertical side 10 and an inclined side 12 both of which are notched in twoplaces lasat 13. These notches accommodate two palrs of transverse bars 14 and 15 which are seatedy therein.

Thls frame is hung from a. shaft 20 by extensions 21 formed integrally ywith the brackets 7, 8 and 9, the extensions on the brackets 8 and 9 being forked and straddling the ends of arms. 22 of'pedestal brackets 23 in which the ends of the shaft 201 areA journaled. The pedestal brackets are provided with top and bottom rearward extensions 24-which embrace .the .adjacent ends ofthe top and bottom arch bars the usual bolts 25 securing both the arch bars and brackets in place.

As great stress and strain is exerted upon the cutting device it is essential that the greater part of the strain be transmitted to the frame of the truck ywhich carriles it. This is accomplished by a lug 26 upon each of the brackets 8 and 9 which is constructed and arranged when the frame is in lowered position to bear against an abutment 2T on each of the pedestal brackets 23. A pair of shoes 28 secured to the underside of the frame immediately above the rails are adapted to rest thereon when the frame is in such lowered position and consequently relieve the pedestal brackets of the major portion of the weight of the frame in this position. i The cutters 30 are secured to the bars 14 of the frame by bolts 35 and are arranged in tight contact with each other. .They consist soA disposed at an oblique angle to the surface to be cut and with their lower ends 31 extending below the level ofthe railhead, relative upward displacement of the cutters on the frame 6 being prevented by a shoulder 32 upon the underside of each cutter near its lower end. These lower ends are tapered to present knife edges 33 extending parallel to the rails.

The cutters are located on both sides of the rails but not immediately above the latter, the space being occupied by a filler block 40 with its lower edge resting upon a lip 41 on the shoe 28 immediately beneath. A share 45 is located in advance of the cutters and is bolted to the latter with its lower edge slightly above the level of the railhead. This share conforms to the wedge arrangement of the cutters.

The power-operated means for raising and lowering the cutting device into inoperative or operative position comprises a cylinder mounted upon a bed-plate lbolted to the `Hoor of the car. Thiscylinder contains a piston the outer end of which is pivotally connected to the upper end of ak lever 53 projecting upwardly through opening 54 in thelioor and being fulcrumed midway its length between a kpair of downwardly eX- tending. flanges formed integrally with the bed-plate. A connecting rod 56 connects the lower end of this lever with the upper end of another lever 57. The latter is fulcrumed on the shaft 2O and its lower yportion is rigidly bolted to the bars l5 of the frame y(i.

In order to lock the lever 53 in position with the cuttingdevices raised 'the flanges "are extended upwardly above the level of the flooring as at 60 and provided with a hole 61 at a point intersecting the path of the lever 53 and through which a locking pin 62 may be inserted thus preventing rearward movement 'of such lever.

Operation.

The operation of our invention is as fol lows n lVhen traveling along a clear road-bed the cutting device will, of course, be in raised position and with locking pin 62 in place. As soon as an accumulation of ice or sand is encountered the pin is removed and the cutting device allowed to drop into operative position, the fall being cushioned by the motive fluid in the cylinder.

As the car continues its travel the cutters 30 will break up the vice or sand which will be then thrown off by the share 45.

Vhen a clear road-bed is again encountered power is `admitted to the cylinder which moves the piston 52 forward and through the lever l53 pulls connecting rod 56 to the rear thus swinging up the frame 6.

That we claim is as follows 1. The combination with a car; of a track clearing equipment mounted upon the car and consisting of a transverse frame of wedge form located at the forward end of the truck of the car, a pedestal bracket se- Copi'es f this patent may be obtained for cured to the forward end of the truck frame on each side thereof, a shaft having its ends journaled 'in said brackets, means for rigidly susnending said frame from the shaft,

.a lplurality of cutters rigidly mounted on the said frame and having pointed lower ends constructed and arranged to 'extend below the level of the road-bed when in the track clearing posit-ion, a Hanger substantially equal in length to the length of the frame and rigidly mounted upon and in advance of the cutters, and power-operated means for lowering and raising the frame vto and from the [road-bed. Y

A 2. The combination with-a car of a track clearing equipment mounted upon the car and consisting of a t-ransverseframe of wedge 'form located at the forward end of the truck of the car, a pedestal bracket secured to the 'forward end of the truck frame on each side thereof, a shaft having its ends journaled in said brackets, means for rigidly suspending said frame from the shaft, aplurality ovf cutters rigidly mounted on the said frame and having pointed lower ends constructed and arranged to extend below the level `of the road-bed when in the track clearing position, a i'ian'ger substantially equal in .length of theframe and rigidly mounted upon and in 'advance of the cutters, power-operated means for lowering and raising the frame to andy from the road-bed, said means consisting of a cylinder mounted uponthe loor of the car, a piston within the cylinder, a lever fulcrumed midway its length and having one end operatively connected tothe piston, a coimecting rod one end of which is pivotally connect-ed to the other end of the lever, a second leverv mounted upon the shaft before-mentioned midway its length and having one end pivotally connected to the saidrod and its opposite end rigidly secured to the rear side of the frame, and means upon the floor of the car for locking the first-mentioned lever in position with the frame raised. l y

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to' this specification in the presence of two witnesses.A

WILLIAM E. woont-rouen. WILLIAM n. winrnnaown lditnesses C. BRADY, P. P. REYNOLDS.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

W'a'shington, D. C. 

